DVT: What You Need to KnowLAS VEGAS (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's being called a public health crisis. It kills more people than HIV and breast cancer
combined, but most of us don't even know what it is. About 2 million Americans
have DVT, and it can kill in an instant. Are you at risk?

NBC reporter David Bloom died while he was reporting in Iraq. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is what took his life.

"Even in the midst of bullets and bombs, it ended up a blood clot that hit his lungs and took his life instantly," Melanie Bloom, David's wife and a national patient spokesperson for the Coalition to Prevent DVT, told Ivanhoe. "He was only 39 years old."

His wife is dedicated to get the word out before another family is torn apart by DVT.

DVT is a disease that starts with a blood clot that forms inside a deep vein -- most often in the lower leg.

"These clots can become dislodged and make their way to the lungs and cause problems there," Mike Metzler, M.D., a trauma & critical care specialist at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas, told Ivanhoe.

The clots can block arteries in the lungs and cause death. Risk factors include obesity, recent surgery, restricted mobility, respiratory failure and old age.

After David died, his wife learned he had an inherited blood disorder. That along with the cramped quarters inside this tank and dehydration -- all combined to be fatal.

"He called me from the desert one night," Melanie recalled. "He said, 'Well I'm outside sleeping tonight on the tank instead of inside the tank', and I said, 'Get back inside the tank where you'll be safe,' and he said, 'No, my legs have been cramping up. I just have to stretch them out.'"

Two days later, David died. But through his wife, he's still getting the word out.

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If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Melissa Medalie at mmedalie@ivanhoe.com.

Image-Guided Treatment for Deep Venous Thrombosis (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may have a central role to play in the long-term treatment of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), a serious condition that involves the formation of a blood clot inside of a deep vein, usually in the legs. A patient with DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood thinners).

"DVT is estimated to occur in nearly one million persons per year in the United States alone," Suresh Vedantham, MD, the national principal investigator and lead author, was quoted as saying. "The anticoagulant treatment method is good at preventing pulmonary emboli, however it does not completely destroy a blood clot or prevent a patient from developing long-term complications — including chronic, daily leg pain, swelling, changes in skin color, and open sores," said Dr. Vedantham.

"Image-guided pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis, which until recently has been typically used to treat only the most critical DVT cases, involves the delivery of a clot busting drug through a catheter-mounted device that also "chews" up a clot — eliminating it completely and possibly improving a patient's long-term outcome and preventing future occurrences,” said Vedantham. “If this technique is proven to prevent long-term DVT complications and improve patient outcomes, it only makes sense to use it on many more patients with DVT."

"Most patients with DVT do not know that there are image-guided treatment options available,” said Dr. Vedanthum. “That is why it is important for referring physicians and radiologists to talk more because patients can really benefit from these procedures."

"At this time we do not have any definitive proof that image-guided procedures will improve patient outcome in the long-term,” explained Vedanthum. “However, the NIH is now funding a pivotal, national clinical trial (the ATTRACT Trial) to see if routine clot removal is the best way to treat DVT. If the trial is positive, it will revolutionize the treatment of DVT."